Eurozone Records Trade Deficit in August as Energy Shortfall Widens

07:22 AM EDT, 10/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The euro area logged a trade deficit in August, weighed down by larger imports of energy and machinery and vehicle products. The eurozone's deficit in trade in goods with the rest of the world stood at 16.1 billion euros, against the revised surplus of 10.7 billion euros in July and a deficit of 1.7 billion euros a year ago, according to Eurostat data published Friday. Imports climbed 16.7% on an annual basis to 243.8 billion euros, while exports rose 9.9% to 227.7 billion euros. "The decline compared with the same month of previous year was driven mainly by machinery and vehicles, the balance of which fell from a surplus of EUR7.2 bn to a [EUR0.7 bn] deficit in August 2026. The energy deficit also widened, increasing from EUR21.3 bn to EUR26.7 bn," the statistical office said. The European Union also recorded an August trade deficit of 25.2 billion euros, compared with the revised surplus of 4 billion euros a month before and a deficit of 7.5 billion euros in the previous year. This was also primarily driven by a swing to deficit from surplus in the machinery and vehicles group and a higher deficit in energy. EU imports increased 18.2% year over year to 228 billion euros, whereas exports rose 9.4% to 202.9 billion euros. Among its main trading partners, the EU's exports to the US saw the largest annual growth at 18.5%, resulting in the trade surplus rising to 8.6 billion euros from 6.3 billion euros. Exports to China rose 3.2%, while imports surged 19.7%, resulting in the trade deficit widening to 38.4 billion euros from 30.1 billion euros. EU exports to the UK and Switzerland also respectively grew 12.1% and 11.8% year over year, with higher trade surpluses.